The invention is concerned with a method of comminuting soft tissue from animal or human bodies as well as means of performing the method.
In the implantation of blood vessel prostheses for the replacement of arteries, for example, the practice is known of employing hybrid protheses. A vessel prosthesis of that kind consists of a hoselike porous plastics wall the inner surface of which is charged with endothelial cells belonging to the body. The cells may be obtained from fatty tissue from the patient, which contains microvascular endothelial cells (see B. E. Jarell et al.: "Use of an endothelial monolayer on a vascular graft prior to implantation", Ann. Surg 1986;203:671-678). The preparation of the hybrid prosthesis i.e., the obtaining of the cells as well as the coating of the plastics tube, must be carried out during the operation during which the replacement of the vessel is being effected; at most one hour is available for the preparation.
The surgeon removes the fatty tissue in pieces which weigh about 20-50 g. The pieces of tissue are then comminuted so that particles of tissue weighing about 0.03-0.1 g arise. By means of an enzymatic digestion in which the connecting tissue is partially broken down, the cells may be set free; they must still be separated from the fatty portion subsequently in a further step of the preparation.
The comminution of the pieces of tissue must be done gently by careful cutting in which as many cells as possible remain uninjured. In the known method comminution of the coarse pieces of tissue into small particles of tissue is carried out by elaborate handwork by means of a scalpel. This activity is made additionally difficult since sterility is necessary.